The Oregon Supreme Court recently approved
several amendments to the MCLE Rules. The basic 45
hour requirement and the types of credits that must
be earned remain the same; the changes are designed
to make the rules clearer for members and sponsors.
The Board of Governors has also made some changes in
the MCLE Regulations to correspond to the rule changes.
The full text of the rules and regulations as amended
is available online at www.osbar.org. Following is
a brief overview of the changes.

Rule Three, has been significantly revised
to clarify the 'professional responsibility' requirement.
Former Rule 3.3 generated considerable confusion about
the distinction between ethics credits and credits
for 'other aspects of professional responsibility.' Amended
Rule 3.2 now clearly distinguishes the three types
of professional responsibility credits that must be
earned: ethics, child abuse reporting and 'elimination
of bias.' The Board of Governors and the court
agreed that 'elimination of bias' is more
clearly descriptive of the purpose of the requirement.
Additionally, new language has been added to Rule 5.5
to define elimination of bias programs as those 'directly
related to the practice of law and designed to educate
attorneys to identify and eliminate from the legal
profession and from the practice of law, biases against
persons because of race, gender, economic status, creed,
color, religion, national origin, disability, age or
sexual orientation.'

The rule on out-of-state compliance was
revised to clarify that members whose principal office
is not in Oregon must complete 45 hours of accredited
CLE activities in each reporting period unless the
principal office is in a jurisdiction with which Oregon
has an MCLE reciprocity agreement. Currently, Oregon
has MCLE reciprocity with Washington, Idaho and Utah.
Members whose principal office is in those jurisdictions
can satisfy their Oregon MCLE requirement by providing
certification that they are in compliance in their
home state. However, all out-of-state lawyers, including
those in reciprocity jurisdictions, must complete the
one hour child abuse reporting education credit that
is required by ORS 9.114.

With the new amendments, Oregon joins
the majority of MCLE jurisdictions in the way that
teaching credits are awarded. Previously, one hour
of teaching credit was allowed for each 60 minutes
of actual instruction, with no credit for time spent
in preparation. If written materials were included
with the oral presentation, a separate application
for research and writing was required. Amended Rule
5.2(a) allows four credits for each hour of instruction
if the presentation includes written materials, or
two credits for each hour of instruction if the presentation
does not include written materials. Members use Form
3 to apply for teaching credit whether or not written
materials are part of the presentation. Form 4 is now
used only for research and writing that is not in conjunction
with a teaching activity.

Another revision in the teaching rule
clarifies that credit is allowed only for continuing
education directed at lawyers. Credit is not allowed
for activities for which the primary audience is nonlawyers
unless there is evidence that the activity contributed
to the professional education of the presenter. Similarly,
participation in or teaching activities offered to
members of other professions or occupations may be
accredited if they meet the MCLE accreditation standards.

The amendments to the MCLE Regulations
conformed them to the amended Rules. In addition, the
Board of Governors clarified in Regulation 6.1 that
up to three elimination of bias credits earned in excess
of the requirement in one reporting period and not
applied to the memberís general requirement can be
carried over to the next reporting period.

In other MCLE news, we are moving to 'transcript' reporting
in 2004. Under this system, sponsors of accredited
activities will provide attendance information, which
will be maintained by the bar. Shortly before the end
of a memberís reporting period, the bar will send a
transcript of the memberís CLE activities based on
the sponsor information provided. Members make any
necessary additions or correction to the transcript,
then sign and file it with the bar. Because this system
is being instituted in 2004, those members whose reporting
period ends in December 2004 will have only one year
of accredited activity on their transcripts and will
have to list their 2002 and 2003 activities in a spreadsheet
as in the past. Members whose reporting periods end
in 2005 will have two years of activities on their
transcripts; not until 2006 will members have a full
three years of activities included on their transcripts.
Members who attend programs for which sponsors have
not sought accreditation by the OSB will continue to
make their own application for credit.

If you have questions about these new
developments in MCLE rules, regulations and reporting,
contact Denise Cline, MCLE coordinator, at dcline@osbar.org
or (503) 620-0222, ext. 315.